Antonio de Guevara

Antonio de Guevara, (born c. 1480, Treceño, Spain—died April 3, 1545, Mondoñedo), Spanish court preacher and man of letters whose didactic work Reloj de príncipes o libro aureo del emperador Marco Aurelio (1529; Eng. trans. by Lord Berners, The Golden Boke of Marcus Aurelius, 1535, and by Sir Thomas North, The Diall of Princes, 1557, frequently reprinted through the 20th century), an attempt to invent a model for rulers, became one of the most influential books of the 16th century. Well received outside Spain, the book was widely translated, even though much annoyance was voiced over Guevara’s false attribution of parts of the work to Emperor Marcus Aurelius, whose Meditations did not come to light until later (1558).

Guevara grew up at the court of Ferdinand and Isabella, serving as page to the prince Don Juan until his death in 1497. Guevara became a Franciscan in 1504, was court preacher in 1521, and was appointed royal chronicler in 1526. He was bishop of Guadix from 1528 to 1537 and thereafter of Mondoñedo. A rhetorician, more concerned with developing a golden prose than with content, Guevara wrote mostly about trite subjects, which enabled him to display his wit and euphuistic diction. His other major works—Epístolas familiares (1539–42; “Familiar Letters”), Menosprecio de corte y alabanza de aldea (1539; “Scorn of Court Life and Praise of Village Life”), and La década de Césares (1539; “The Ten Caesars”), a rather shallow historical work—also managed to achieve popularity during his lifetime. His work is now considered of little more than historical interest, clearly reflecting the prevailing tastes of the court of Charles V.